ACLU official leaves post to help gay seniors

BY Advocate.com Editors

March 21 2003 1:00 AM ET

The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky will step down from his post Friday to lead another organization. Jeff Vessels, 40, will become director of the Lavender Seniors of the East Bay, an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit group dedicated to improving the quality of life for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered seniors. During Vessels's tenure, the Kentucky ACLU has fought to keep local ordinances that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, sued to keep the Ten Commandments from being posted in government buildings, and lobbied to pass the state's first legislation to ban racial profiling. Under Vessels's leadership, the ACLU also forged partnerships with other organizations to promote a civilian review board with subpoena powers to oversee the police. Vessels, who grew up in Owensboro, Ky., said he is moving to San Francisco to be with his partner, Gilberto Gerald.